'I found out about heart condition after collapsing during school lunch break'

A horse groom from Mansfield, who was diagnosed with a rare inherited heart condition after collapsing as a teenager, is to take on the Great North Run in support of the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Hollie Cannon, 23, collapsed, aged 15, during her school lunch break, just two months before she was due to sit her mock GCSEs.

Her mum Sarah immediately took her to a GP, who recorded her heart rhythm by doing an echocardiogram (ECG) and referred her to King’s Mill Hospital in Mansfield.

Hollie was then admitted to the specialist cardiology department at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, where she underwent tests for almost a month before being diagnosed with Andersen Tawil syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting the heart’s electrical system. This is also known as Long QT syndrome 7. 

She was fitted with a permanent implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), which is a small battery-powered device that delivers a shock to the heart if the person goes into a dangerously abnormal heart rhythm.

Hollie, who works with military horses at Melton Mowbray, will be joining 1100 other BHF runners on Sunday (September 8) in the 13.1 mile run from Newcastle to South Shields to raise funds for life-changing research into heart and circulatory diseases.

Hollie said: “I want to run and raise money for the BHF mainly because I know it helps families like mine. It is actually lifesaving to so many people and I wanted to give something back to everyone who has helped me.

“It all happened quite suddenly. There were no prior warning signs or anything. I was eating my lunch outside, and I collapsed. I don’t remember it just that I was eating my lunch and next thing I woke up on the floor where I was originally stood surrounded by teachers. 

“Being in hospital was a very weird time. And a bit scary, I think it was the unknown. I was rarely poorly. It was very strange to be living there for a nearly a month.

 “I was nervous when I first started playing sport again after my ICD was fitted, as you never know how your body is going to react but it was ok.  

“I have a heart monitor at home, and it definitely helps that I can get my heart checked if I want to or if I’m not feeling well. I go to hospital, once a year for my full check.

“My ICD has never gone off – thank goodness - but it will have to be changed in the near future. It’s a bit of pain to have to go through the recovery again but it has to be done, and I know I will benefit in the long run.  

“It was actually the genetics team which diagnosed me. The results came back after they did all the bloods tests.  My symptoms were abnormal and fast heart beats.

“Everyone in my family has been tested but I’m the first carrier of this gene identified in my family. It’s something that I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life. It’s just something you learn to get on with.  

“Training for the GNR has been a bit on and off. I play sports alongside it so trying to fit in long runs alongside all of that is tricky. But I do enjoy running. I’ve been following a plan.  

To sponsor Hollie visit her fundraising page here.

Chloe Beevers, partnership manager at the BHF, added: “It’s fantastic to see Hollie’s courage and determination in helping us fund lifesaving research.

“Without the dedication of our team of BHF runners and the commitment of people like Hollie, we wouldn’t be able to fund research that has already broken new ground, revolutionised treatments and transformed the lives of millions of people in the UK. “

In Nottinghamshire 130,000 people are estimated to be living with heart and circulatory disease. Some 11,000 people have a faulty gene that can cause an inherited heart-related condition.

Thirty three per cent of adults in Nottinghamshire do not meet physical activity recommendations.